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questioning raise of her slim
brows.
    “Well, it’s harder for Shelby to let go
of Sunny than she thought,” he began, his voice full of regret.
    Before Marisol could look too defeated,
he smiled at her. “So we have to give her three days before we can have her.”
    The SUV nearly rocked with Marisol’s
screech of joy.
    “That will give us the time we need to
get one of the stalls ready. I have a feeling that mare is used to a little
more comfort than the stock horses.”
    From behind, Marisol wrapped her arms
around Craig’s neck and chanted thank yous into his ear in between smacking
kisses on his cheek.
    “To help pass the time, Long Knife Creek
is having a big barbeque tomorrow. I’d love for both of you to come over and
join it,” Quinn invited. “Believe me, these barbeques are not to be missed.”
    “Can we, Dad?”
    Craig turned his attention to Quinn,
took in the half smile on her lips. He tried desperately to search for the
little girl he had been used to, but she was long gone and nothing could be
done to change that. Quinn’s smile was a woman’s smile and it sent flames
licking through his veins. Quickly, he reined himself in. This was not the place
or time. “I don’t think we’d be good neighbors if we missed it. I’m sure the
Shady H will survive for a few hours without us.”
    “You’re the best,” Marisol sighed and
rested her cheek against his shoulder.
    Craig glanced away from Quinn and smiled
at his daughter. He didn’t think he’d had such a perfect moment in well over
two years and he longed to savor it.
    ***
    Quinn didn’t show her excitement about
Craig accepting her invitation with more than a smile, but there was a hell of
a lot more enthusiasm brewing inside her mind and belly, along with a good case
of the butterflies. Marisol settled back in her seat and buckled, and suddenly
Craig’s proximity seemed closer, made her nerves edgier. She felt as if she’d
asked him out. Not that this was a date or anything. He’d probably spend more
time with Jacob. They had a lot to catch up on. She couldn’t deny or ignore,
though, that something happened between them, subtle as it was. A moment.
    There wasn’t any way she’d imagined
those few long looks that had captured her and stopped her heart. Could she
have? She’d given up on those romantic dreams of him years and years ago so
there was no way it had been wishful thinking.
    As he pulled out of the Brock’s drive,
Quinn studied Craig’s profile. It was clean, neat, with a high forehead and
straight nose. A dark curl fell across his forehead and she longed to reach
over and push it aside. But her fingers wouldn’t want to stop there. His dark
waves begged to have fingers run through them. His whole appearance was casual,
not careless. She appreciated that. For the past four years, she’d been
surrounded by college guys who’d been more concerned about their looks than
what they wanted to do with their lives. Craig was a refreshing change. A real
man who didn’t dress to impress.
    “You’re going to wear holes in the side
of my head if you keep staring like that,” Craig said softly.
    The surface of the sun couldn’t have
been any hotter than the heat that rushed into her cheeks. Good God, the last
thing she needed was to be caught gawking at him like some starry-eyed
teenager.
    “It’s just…I was thinking that you don’t
look too much like Robby. It’s strange.”
    Craig glanced away from the road and
gave her a smile. “That a bad thing?”
    “No, of course not.”
    Craig turned his attention back to the
road. The smile died a little but didn’t disappear entirely. It was as if
something amused him but he didn’t want to share.
    Marisol leaned forward and rested her
chin on the seat between Craig and Quinn.
    “Robby is cute,” she said, looking at
Quinn. “He told me you two used to be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
    “A long time ago. Not anymore,” Quinn
replied, mortified that her voice was so